Chapter 5
It was an extraordinary sight; eight military choppers flying low over the vast sand-dunes, thundering towards some unclear goal. But deep in Sahara, the endless, barren desert of Northern Africa, there was no one around to impress. This was a place most humans would avoid at all cost; deadly heat, no water for miles, no life, no landmarks, no colors except the color of sand and the azure blue sky. It was easy to go insane here and even easier to get lost. If it wasn't for sophisticated GPS equipment they would be going nowhere, but with state of the art technology the pilots in these choppers knew exactly where they were going. When they reached the location the choppers landed and about twenty-five well trained men from the Special Forces poured out and immediately started to secure the perimeter. The witches descended from one of the choppers and The High Priestess calmly smoothed out her dress with a delicate hand while eyeing their surroundings with an unreadable expression. Willow however didn't hide her emotions at all. She was staring in every direction with growing desperation. There was nothing there. Nothing but sand. Riley barked some orders and the soldiers expanded the perimeter, searching for hidden entrances in the ground but to no avail. Buffy was watching intently but keeping her distance. Giles came out and attempted to lean against the hot metal of the aircraft then quickly returned to the protective shade inside.
Willow gently touched the amulet that was resting around her neck. She was sure this was the place but where was the entrance? She had assumed the gateway would be hidden, probably behind some elaborate magical shield, but the idea that it would be so well hidden that she couldn't detect it had never occurred to her. Breathing deeply she concentrated her energy on the amulet. Suddenly she felt a strange sensation, something she had never felt before. It slowly grew stronger and after a few moments it was so strong she actually fell down, gasping for air. Then it stopped. When she looked up, Catherine was standing above her, watching her questioningly.
"Well?" she said with a stern voice. She wasn't sure what to say. She didn't know what it was, what it meant, or even how to describe it. "I...I'm not sure..." she stuttered, not being able to meet the gaze of the High Priestess. Then she felt a hand carefully helping her up from the ground. Buffy gently brushed off some of the sand from her dress, and gave her an encouraging nod. The High Priestess was clearly not happy about the interference but Buffy ignored her. She simply gestured to Willow to get into one of the choppers to avoid the sun.
It was mid day and the sun stood at its zenith. The heat was unbelievable, and even in the shade it was hard to breathe. She climbed inside, grateful to be out of the sun and away from the High Priestess inquiring stare. Angel and Spike were sitting at the back, carefully hidden from the deathly rays of the sun. Kaya was nestled some distance away from Angel but clearly being aware of his every move. She had barely said two words to anyone, including Angel, but her silence spoke volumes and there was no doubt how she felt about her. She tried hard not to look at Kaya. The last thing she needed was a larger dose of guilt.
"It's close." Angel's voice came deep from within the darkness, harsh, cold, unyielding. She hoped he didn't notice the shudder that went through her body.
"I know," she said faintly. "I just don't know where." Buffy put a gentle hand on her shoulder and there was no doubt in her voice when she said,
"You'll find it, Will. You just need to concentrate." Buffy gave her friend a encouraging smile that never reached her eyes, then left the chopper to stand guard in the sun, making sure no one dared approach.
Willow took a deep breath. As much power as she had gained over the past few years, it was amazing how much safer she still felt with Buffy around. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Then something dawned on her. If Angel could sense it too, maybe they should link. Perhaps he could decode the strange sensation she had felt. She moved closer to him. His dark eyes followed her warily in the murkiness of the chopper and she had to fight an impulse to run away. Sitting down in front of him, her voice sounded surprisingly firm considering how on edge she felt.
"I'm going to need your help, Angel. Link with me, maybe we can find the opening together." She thought she could see him nod in the shadow then he took her hands in his. He felt cold despite the heat and she felt a strange sense of comfort. She knew the evil within him perhaps better than anyone and it had gotten stronger the past few days. But he was still Angel, a friend she had trusted with her life more than once.
Pushing aside her own insecurities she prepared to form the link. But before she had a chance to do anything the strange sensation was back, stronger than before. This time it was followed by visions, blurred colors swirling before her, images without meaning. She tried to gain control, forced herself to focus on her hands in his, the sensation of his skin against hers, linking her energies to his. It took almost all of her strength but finally she could feel the connection. But she hadn't really thought this through. The link work both ways. Now the pain surged from him with such force it took her breath away, almost pushing her to the floor. Darkness engulfed her, raging torrents of fear, anger and sadness. She had to force herself to breathe, to fight the current that threatened to pull her down. Moments went by, what felt like an eternity, but eventually she managed to contain his pain and move past it. She focused on the images that still whirled in her mind. Suddenly the images cleared, she could make out sand, a strange shape. Misplaced colors, flowing energy, it was cold and dark, smelled of blood. Then the noise came, loud booming; a voice speaking in a strange tongue. She could only understand two words; "Angelus! Welcome!" Then it stopped, everything went silent, the link was broken. Angel released her hands and she dropped to the floor shaking, struggling to breathe. Spike helped her sit up again and handed her some water to drink. He gave her a wry smile.
"Quite a ride, huh?" She was too exhausted to respond and to her own surprise she actually let him pull her close to him, resting her head comfortably against his chest, his strong arms soothing her shaking body. She allowed herself to relax, made herself breathe calmly. This had probably been one of the hardest thing she'd ever done and she couldn't imagine what it was like to live with that every day. But at least now she understood what the images meant and judging from his expression so did Angel.
She regretfully pushed herself away from Spike. She met Angel's eyes for a moment then looked away. She wished with every part of her being that there was another way but wishing didn't make a rainbow. She rose, mustering what little strength she had left. There was no point in staling. Her voice sounded very tired when she declared,
"I'll go make the arrangements." Then she made her way past Kaya and her cold stares, out of the dark chopper and back into the light.
Giles adjusted the old and torn hat on his head with a disgruntled frown. It was the only thing Xander had found for him to shield from the sun before they left, or at least that's what he had said. He was quite sure he looked ridicules but if it gave Xander some small joy it was worth it. Besides, he had far greater concerns than a stupid hat. For some time now he had been struggling with the ominous feeling that they were being manipulated. The demon Angel had faced in New York had been nothing more than an elaborate decoy, just as the elimination of Dawn had served a greater purpose. This Dacq'ilion was without a doubt the most sinister, calculating demonic power they had yet encountered and his ambition eclipsed all others. Ultimate evil possessing the power to rule as God over all dimensions, he couldn't think of anything more terrifying.
He carefully put his feet on the scorching sand. It was amazing how hot it could get on earth. Willow had just emerged from the chopper and was speaking to Deanna, gesturing towards the empty desert. Giles hoped that she had found a way to reveal the entrance. Clearly it was hidden here somewhere, shielded by magic too complex even for the High Priestess to unravel. When he approached Willow he could hear Deanna objecting rather feverishly but Willow was in no mood to argue. "Just get it done." she said in an unusually harsh voice and marched off. Deanna made a quick curtsy and almost ran back to the chopper where Angel and Spike were. He felt bad for the poor girl but his main concern was Willow. Something had happened to her and he was determined to find out what.
Willow stood silent, facing the great, emptiness of the desert. He stopped a few feet from her, watching as she tried to draw energy from the earth. She was almost completely drained of power, he could see that clearly and considering how powerful she was that was highly surprising.
"What happened, Willow?" He found himself almost whispering in the silence. Willow didn't move, she just stood there, eyes closed. Eventually she spoke in a strange, distant voice,
"I felt it, Giles." A jolt of fear touched his heart and he hoped he was wrong.
"You felt what?" She opened her eyes and slowly turned to face him, her eyes welling up with tears. "I felt him. What he feels." He forced himself to remain calm.
"Listen, Willow. You have to put it aside. We all feel bad for Angel, but you said yourself there is no other way. We can not let Dacq'ilion use the Crystal! All sacrifices to that end are acceptable." He realized he had sounded brusquer than he had intended but he had a fairly good idea of what must be going through Angel's mind at this point and although he had no doubt the vampire had enough strength to handle it he wasn't so sure about Willow. In this fight though, they really couldn't afford to lose either of them. To his relief she nodded, seemingly understanding and turned back towards the desert. With a voice filled with sadness she started chanting, her arms stretched out, reaching for something unseen.
Angel walked as quickly as he dared towards Willow, keeping a cautious eye on Deanna. She was chanting furiously to keep the sun from burning him to dust but in direct sunlight like this it was still a big risk. Sweat was pouring down her face and she looked exhausted already. It was a shame she was the only one who had fully mastered this type of chanting, she could have used some help. Xander was walking a few steps behind her, as if he wanted to be there to catch her if she fell over. He looked around to see where Buffy was. He didn't like to let her out of his site for too long. The sadness in her was enough to kill any normal human. To his relief she was still sitting in the shadow of one of the choppers with Spike right behind her, watching from afar as Angel reached Willow.
Giles wiped large drops of sweat from his forehead for the hundredth time. His handkerchief was soaked through by now and had become quite useless for cleaning his glasses, which he realized every time he unconsciously took them off to do just that. Unfortunately he had only brought one. He put the soaked piece of cloth back in his pocket with a sigh. Willow had gone silent and turned towards Angel. As their eyes met they shared a brief moment of mutual understanding before she left him to begin his own chant. Just then, Giles spotted the High Priestess standing across from him. She was watching Willow intently and to his surprise an expression passed over her ageless face, something strange and out of place. It was only for a second and perhaps his eyes had deceived him in the blinding sunlight. But even though he tried to shake it off it lingered in his mind. He had no idea what to make of it but it might be best to keep an eye on the High Priestess in the future.
The chants of Deanna and Angel created an eerie symphony in the otherwise deathly silent desert. It even made his hair stand on end despite his long experience with the paranormal. But soon the air in front of Angel started to shift, colors emerged, swirling around, vibrating in the heat. Angel continued to speak in an old demon tongue and the energy shield became clear for everyone to see. Angel then raised his hands and announced in a loud voice the arrival of the demon Angelus. Suddenly the energy shield faded and revealed a large rock-formation with a cave entrance in the middle. Their journey could finally continue.
The confined corridors through the mountain spiraled steadily downwards and the team had to walk in a single file to get through some of the narrowest parts. At times all Giles could see was Riley's broad back right in front of him, the rest of the company was just faint breaths in the distance. After a while he was seriously beginning to fear they had been led into a trap but just as he was about to voice his concern, the passage opened up into a much broader cave. The air was damp, even a bit chilly and it smelled of old mildew and dirt. In the eerie light of the magical candles the witches had brought, they could clearly see intricate inscriptions on the walls. They were definitely on the right path.
The High Priestess, who had taken up the lead right from the start, motioned with a delicate hand and Riley set up his men around the cave. The lights soon lit up their surroundings, revealing three separate corridors leading from the cave. The High Priestess gave Angel a questioning look but he shook his head. He felt nothing, or perhaps he didn't want to share. It was strange to see him look so exhausted, as if the slow walk through these caves had somehow drained him of energy. He sat down on one of the rock-formations jetting out of the cave wall, staring vacantly in front of him. Giles decided to check on him, this was no time for Angel to fall apart on them. But as he approached the brooding hero, he suddenly froze in his tracks. From deep within one of the corridors a noise came; a hissing sound, followed by what could only be described as metal rods hitting rock. Riley and his men quickly assumed their attack formations and as the sounds grew louder Giles put his backpack down and pulled out an ax. Angel on the other hand didn't move, simply lifted his head a little. Buffy hadn't moved either, standing at the other end of the cave, watching the source of the sounds intently. Giles couldn't help but marvel at the girl. There was an air of danger about her, the unmistakable aura of a true warrior. She stood there, very simply, waiting for whatever would come out of that corridor. Stood there, relaxed and poised for attack at the same time. Several weapons were sticking out of her backpack, she was just waiting for a glimpse of their enemy before she made her choice. He had to force himself to look away. Out of all the slayers he had met in his time, Buffy always seemed to him the ultimate Slayer but maybe he just felt like that because he had trained her. He noticed Angel watching her too, his dark eyes searching her face. The creature that had the rest of them fighting hard to control their fear barely had his attention. Angel clearly had far greater problems on his mind than the demonic creature that would soon attack.
With a ghostly wheezing the creature finally descended on them but at that moment they all wished it hadn't. It looked like an overgrown, gigantic beetle, with six long legs, a body covered in what seemed like armored plates, and faceted eyes like a fly, watching all of them at the same time. Giles estimated it was at least twelve feet tall and despite its rather gangly appearance it would not be easy to kill. Riley ordered his men to shoot but it didn't take long to realize bullets would have no effect. The creature simply gave up a hideous cry that echoed between the cave walls then proceeded to shoot out long, sharp, spear-like tentacles from outcrops on its legs. Two men went down immediately, speared by the tentacles and Riley ordered his men to retreat.
Now the High Priestess stepped up with Willow by her side and followed closely by the other witches. They all linked and the High Priestess started chanting, lifting her arms up in front of her. Soon she had charged a large energy ball between her hands, which she calmly released on the creature. She looked so confident that it would be over soon that she even turned away. Giles skin began to crawl but he wasn't sure why. As the energy ball hit the creature in full force it certainly seemed like it would be the end but to everyone's surprise the creature had some kind of supernatural defense and the massive energy ball simply bounced off it and vaporized. The creature moved towards the High Priestess and one of its spears shot out with deathly accuracy, aimed directly at her. He didn't see how it happened but somehow Angel managed to get in front of the High Priestess with a long sword in hand just in time to cut off the spear before it pierced her. After that it didn't take long for everyone to retreat back into the other caves. Now there was only three left to fight the creature; Angel, Spike and Buffy.
Giles watched intently as the three warriors circled the creature, searching for a weakness. They had all chosen swords, long, sharp and too heavy for any normal human to lift. Giles still had his ax in hand but in this fight he would be useless. Separately these three were all dangerous enough, together they were certainly unstoppable, no matter how imposing the opposition. But the creature apparently had a mission. After eyeing both Angel and Spike with its weird facets, it launched its attack straight at Buffy. Clearly it had orders to stop all none demons from entering. Buffy gracefully avoided the attack and easily cut through the tentacle. But another came right after it and this time it only missed her by an inch. Spike jumped up on the creatures back and attempted to ram his sword into its flesh, but no matter how much strength he put into it his sword failed to penetrate the armored plates.
The creature obviously didn't like Spike being on its back. It gave off a terrible shriek and began to shake and twist then suddenly reared up and slammed Spike against the ceiling of the cave. While he fell unconscious to the ground Angel saw the opportunity and moved in. With full force he drove his sword into the belly of the beast, only to be surprised to realize it didn't penetrate. He only had seconds to move out of the way as the creature crashed down on its six legs again. The cave shook as the creature landed and now it was grumpy. Spike was still unconscious so it went after Angel with total fury, sending out its tentacles by the dozen. Angel cut away the spears as fast as he could but more and more where piercing his body and he was getting weaker by the second.
Suddenly the creature screeched in pain and as Angel fell to the ground, it shifted its attention to Buffy. She had managed to get her sword inside the protruding end-section of the creature and bluish slime was pouring out. But as painful as it apparently was, unfortunately it didn't seem deadly. In a strange moment of silence the monster moved closer to Buffy, who was standing with her back against the wall. She was standing perfectly still, watching the creature came closer, her face void of emotion. Giles held his breath, his heart beating hard. He could feel something was wrong. Buffy didn't move and her sword hung limp by her side. In a moment of desperation Giles started towards her, but someone grabbed his arm. It was Xander. He was shaking his head firmly.
"Angel will help her." He said it with such certainty that Giles actually found himself comforted for a moment. But as he turned again that comfort soon vanished. He saw it almost in slow motion; the sharp tentacle shot out right at her and Buffy just stood there immobile, as if she was hypnotized. Suddenly out of nowhere, Angel leapt up and cut the spear seconds before it would have pierced her. Fueled by sheer anger he shoved her out of the way, knocking her to the ground, and went at the creatures eyes with desperate fury.
Buffy actually took a few moments to get up. But as she rose she seemed to shake off whatever had been holding her back and when she spoke her voice was firm and unyielding,
"Angel, get back!" He gave her a startled look and to Giles surprise Angel actually backed away, letting the creature focus its attention once again on the slayer. With a graceful vault she got up on to its back luring it to revealing its belly again. With an elegant motion she then leapt off before she hit the ceiling. Seconds later she had its tentacles shooting right at her but this time she didn't wait for them to hit, instead she moved in, straight for the belly. The creature may have been big and well protected but luckily it wasn't too bright. It didn't even realize what she had done until three of its own tentacles had pierced the armored plates that protected its belly. The beetle creature actually gave off a noise that sounded surprised before it crashed to the ground and went still.
It was quiet. No one moved. The creature lay still, the battle was over. Buffy wiped off a few drops of sweat that had actually made its way down her forehead. She wasn't watching Angel. She could feel him watching her but she made a point of not watching him. Instead she walked up to Spike who was just waking up from his encounter with the cave ceiling.
"What happened?" he asked groggily and rubbed his sore head, as she helped him up. When he saw the dead beetle he smiled and said with satisfaction, "I see you exterminated that bloody vermin! Hope you made it suffer on my account!" She nodded, not sure what to say. Then she felt Angel moving in closer behind her, leaning down, as if he wanted to make sure she could hear him, his quiet voice full of focused anger.
"What the hell was that?" Her heart was beating so hard she could barely breathe. She wanted to scream, she almost did. How could he ask her that? She turned, looked right into his eyes. They were dark just like they had been when she met Angelus, all those years ago. She let her own anger fuel her, make her voice as forceful as possible, when she replied,
"I had everything under control."
Spike had been staring at them in bewilderment and now he wanted some answers, turning accusingly towards Angel,
"What are you two going on about?" But they both ignored him. Angel had all his focus centered on her and as she attempted to walk away from him he practically shouted,
"The hell you had!" He grabbed her arm and she reacted on instinct, pulling her arm out of his grip and hitting him as hard as she could. He went down but it wasn't until he failed to get up that she realized how hurt he was. The wounds caused by the creature's spears had been hard to see under his black coat, but now the ground was smeared red. She swallowed the tears that threatened to overpower her and leaned down to help him. He pushed her away, his eyes full of pain. She backed off, letting Kaya help him instead. She was starring so accusingly at her that she couldn't stand it. She turned around and walked off.
Spike was not happy about being ignored.
"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on here? I thought that bloody vermin thing being dead was a good thing. Why the bloody hell are you two fighting?" Kaya gave him a look that said be quiet but that only seemed to spur him on. He glared back at her and snorted, "What? The bloody Slayer and the Super Hero, too bloody fragile to answer? That's bloody rich!" He walked up to Buffy and she had to struggle with herself not to hit him too. But as he softened his voice a part of her just wanted to throw herself against his chest and cry. "Tell me, pet. What happened?" She lied of course, what else could she do?
"He thought I was going to let that thing spear me but I had everything under control. I killed it, didn't I?" That last part she directed at her audience. Their concern, their worried glances, was about to drive her insane. Especially Giles. The look in his eyes made her feel like a child again and she didn't like it. She could feel Spike staring after at her as she walked up to her backpack and began to clean her sword.